Frank lowe



. No. 605,93l. Patented July 5, I898.

F. LOWE.

AUTOMATIC CAN. (Application med Jime' 21, 1397,)

(No Model.)

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ilNiTnn STATES PATENT Trice.

FRANK LOWE, OF OKLAHOMA, OKLAHOMA TERRITORY.

AUTOMATIC CAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 606,931, dated July 5, 1898.

Application filed June 21, 1897. fierial No. 641,690. (No model.)

To all whom may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK LOWE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oklahoma, in the county of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Territory, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Cans; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improved household oil-can for general domestic use; and the objects are to provide a stock or supply can of this class for conveniently filling the oillamps in a safe and neat manner and also for emptying the contents of the lamp back into the can when desired for the purpose of cleaning the lamp.

To these ends the novelty consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the parts of the same, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings the same reference characters indicate the same parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of a domestic oil-can embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

1 represents a cylindrical can, which may be of the usual one or five gallon size, although I do not wish to be confined to any size, as it is evident that the invention is applicable to any wholesale or retail can.

3 represents a vertical tube extending along the inner wall of the can, at one side thereof, and having its lower open end extending to within a short distance of the bottom of the can, while its upper end extends through an opening in the top 4 and through a cylindrical socket 5, surrounding said opening.

6 represents a g'ooseneek or spout formed integrally with the tube, and 7 represents a cork or rubber collar which encompasses the tube and forms an air-tight joint between the same and the socket 5. The tube may be adjusted vertically by sliding it through said collar.

'When in use, the spout 6 is projected over the edge of the can, as shown, and when not in use it may be swung around over the can, as shown in dotted lines, so as to be swung around over the top of the can and out of the way.

8 represents a screw-cap removablysecured to the top t of the can, and it is provided with a cylindrical tapering socket 9, which receives the correspondingly-shaped nipple 10 of the collapsible bulb 11, provided with a valved inlet 12, and a similar valve is located in the nipple 10.

15 represents the ordinary handle, hinged in the ears 16 1G, fixed to the top 4.

In using my improved can the end of the spout 6 is inserted in the lamp and the bulb 11 compressed, so as to force the air in the bulb into the can. The pressure of the air in the can raises the oil through the tube 3 and discharges it through the spout 6 into the lamp, the bulb 11 being alternately compressed and expanded until the required amount of oil is discharged.

When it is desirable for any purpose to empty a lamp of its oil, the spout 6 is inserted in the lamp below the level of the oil and the bulb compressed to establish communication between the oil in the lamp and that in the can, and assuming that the level ofthe oil in the can is below that of the oil in the lamp the well-known siphoning principle is established and the entire contents of the lamp will be returned to the can. Of course it will be understood that as soon as communication is established between the oil in the lamp and that in the can the bulb is detached from the socket 9, which also permits the escape of the air, which is replaced by the oil from the lamp.

l3 and 14 represent vertical parallel guideflanges fixed on the inner wall of the can to support the tube 3 in a vertical position and at the same time permit of the vertical and lateral adjustment of its spout. These flanges are arranged to form a vertical V-shaped passage, through which the tube 3 extends, and the free edges thereof serve as clamps, which bear on opposite sides of and grip the tube. The said tube is thereby held firmly against accidental turning under ordinary pressure on the gooseneck 6, but may be turned or withdrawn by forcibly twisting said gooseneck laterally or drawing upwardly on the same.

I am aware that it is old to expel oil from a can into a lamp by means of an air-0on1- pressor and discharge-tube, and such I do not claim; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, 1s-- An oil-can having an opening in its top adjacent its edge, an integral socket 5 surrounding the same and a central opening surrounded by a threaded collar, a screw-cap 8 engaging said collar and formed with an integral, upwardly-projecting socket 9, a collapsible bulb 11 provided With a nipple 10 ad' jacent to fit in said socket, a discharge-tube 3 extending on the inner side of the can to near the bottom thereof and projecting at its FRANK LOXVE.

Vitnesses:

J OHN MoELRoY, JOHN ZIMMERMANN. 

